


a world where roses bloom

by stormss



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Established Relationship, Idiots in Love, M/M, Tenderness, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29441715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormss/pseuds/stormss
Summary: It's not that TK hates Valentine's Day—he just has a hard time forgetting how badly he's been burned in the past. But, then again, he never had someone like Carlos before.*Tarlos Valentine 2021, Day Three:"I told you this ages ago."
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Marjan Marwani & TK Strand
Comments: 19
Kudos: 235
Collections: 9-1-1 Lone Star ▶ Carlos Reyes / Tyler Kennedy "TK" Strand, Tarlos Valentine 2021





	a world where roses bloom

**Author's Note:**

> this was such a fun event and i can't thank everyone who read/left kudos/commented on my fics enough!! happy valentines day to each of you 💗
> 
> the title comes from _la vie en rose_ by lucy dacus. come say hi on [tumblr!](https://reyesstrand.tumblr.com/)

TK's pretty sure his bad mood is written all across his face. 

He can't help it, though; the lack of Carlos' presence due to a recent string of night shifts that directly conflict with his schedule means he's been barely sleeping, and the nonsensical calls they've been responding to all week in the build-up to the fourteenth have just added fuel to the flame. TK's all too aware of what's lingering in the back of his mind, though—what's made his emotions feel amplified up to eleven, what's making his mouth permanently turned down in a frown. He tries not to think about it, but it's pretty hard when he's being overwhelmed with red and pink everywhere, little cupid cutouts hanging on the walls of the firehouse. 

"Hey, Mr. Gloom!" Marjan yells, waving him over to the kitchen. 

TK sighs, and puts the hose he'd been rolling up away before moving over to her. "What's up?" 

"Looks like your boy's a bit of a romantic," Marjan says, gesturing to the spread that's been left on the kitchen island for them all to stumble upon when they returned from their most recent call. TK looks down at it, noting the chocolate covered strawberries and heart-shaped desserts, the little card surely enough signed by his boyfriend. It does make him smile, a little, but as the guys come in and start staring down the treats that aren't kale chips or rice cakes, TK just grabs the note and nods at them. 

"Go crazy," he says, folding up the note and stuffing it in his pocket, before strolling away. Paul, Judd and Mateo all jump at the opportunity to have some processed sugar, but Marjan's not so easily tricked, if her footsteps following closely behind him are anything to judge by. 

"Hey, what's going on?" Marjan asks, the two of them lingering by the stairs, her arms crossed over her chest. "And don't start with your _I'm fine_ bullshit, Strand." 

TK lets out a sigh, and drags a hand through his hair. "It's—it's all of this, okay? The hearts and streamers and chocolate." 

"I thought you'd be all over Valentine's Day," Marjan comments, leaning against the banister. 

"I used to be," TK says, sticking his hands in his pockets, the fingers of his left hand brushing against the folded note. She lifts a brow at him, and he sighs. "The only other serious relationship I've ever been in was with Alex. And last Valentine's Day, things were—were rough, with him. I knew it deep down, but I just wouldn't let myself accept it." 

He takes a breath, and scuffs his boot against the tiled floor. 

"I always made the big gestures," TK continues, finding Marjan nodding along slowly, her eyes sincere as she listens, like always. "And when he cancelled our Valentine's plans last minute, even though he knew I had to get my shift covered so we could make our reservation, I figured I'd have to do something bigger to show him that I loved him. That we—we were meant to be."

He says the last couple of words with a huff of humourless laughter, staring up at the ceiling until he feels Marjan's hand on his arm. 

"That's when you decided to propose?" She asks, and he reluctantly nods. It feels so stupid, now, knowing how long he'd held onto a relationship that was crumbling with every passing day. 

"Bought the ring a couple days after the failed dinner attempt, and had my heart crushed two weeks later," TK says, with a sad sigh. 

He watches as Marjan's expression changes, and he rubs at the back of his neck. 

"And I—I know Carlos isn't like that," TK says, thinking back with warmth at the past six months of their relationship being official. "He loves me, I love him. There's no question. But I—"

"—you can't help but to think about last year," Marjan finishes, and he lets out a shaky breath, nodding as she speaks. "And all the romantic gestures feel like they're too much. Like an omen, or something. And you don't want to feel blindsided again." 

"You're good, Marwani," he says, aiming for playful. "I think you're absorbing Paul's mind-reading abilities." 

She rolls her eyes at him. "You know, I'm no expert, but maybe you should—I dunno—talk to your boyfriend?" 

TK makes a face at her. They've always been good in the open conversation department, ever since the whole mess with Carlos' parents a couple of months back, but he doesn't want to bring down his boyfriend's spirits when it comes to a holiday that's supposed to be all about love. 

He opens his mouth to make some sort of retort, when the alarms start blaring above them. 

"Talk to him," she says, firm, officially drawing a line in the sand when it comes to his own personal pity party. 

And so he sighs, before following her to the rig. 

* * *

TK doesn't stall when it comes to going home, nope, absolutely not. 

If he happens to take an extra long shower and then sit around in his dad's office talking about the most pointless things, well, that's his own business. But eventually it becomes obvious, and he gets a text from Carlos asking if everything's okay, and he sighs, saying goodnight to his dad and heading out to his car. They've finished their twenty-four-hour shift just past midnight, so it's officially Valentine's Day, and TK's stomach just feels all tied up in knots. (He's already had roses delivered to Carlos' though, because he's not a complete monster. His boyfriend deserves to be shown how much he's loved, even if TK's been lost in his own head for the past few days).

When he finally pulls up in front of the condo, he takes several deep breaths before cutting the ignition, thumbing the ridges on his key as he strolls up to the front door. He's preparing himself for talk of their big plans in the morning on their shared day off, the first in a couple weeks, for an extravagant meal and he just—he just doesn't want to think about what the last Valentine's meal did to him. What it lead to. 

TK's subconsciously clenching his jaw as he opens the front door and steps inside. 

But the moment he looks around, he almost becomes undone. 

Carlos sits at the kitchen table, a few candles strewn about, flickering gold light amid the shadowy darkness of the room. There's a pizza on the table, the bouquet of roses TK had delivered already sitting in a vase next to it. 

"Carlos?" TK asks, noticing how he's dressed in a soft cotton t-shirt and sweats, curls loose. 

"Someone told me you're having a rough time," Carlos explains, slowly getting to his feet to approach him. He thinks of Marjan's pointed look to him when their shift ended, and shakes his head slightly, before returning his gaze to his boyfriend. "Ty, I wish you'd talked to me."

TK shrugs. "It's not a big d—" 

"If you finish that sentence, I won't hesitate to withhold kisses for the night," Carlos says, cutting him off. TK rolls his eyes, but he can feel his overly fond, _Carlos-smile_ pulling at the corner of his mouth. He's always telling him his feelings aren't pointless, aren't stupid, are worthy of expressing. 

"I've just never had a Valentine's Day—" TK starts, wringing his hands until Carlos gently takes them in his, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. "—I've never had one with someone like you. And it's—it's messing with my head." 

"It brings up reminders of before?" Carlos asks, and TK slowly nods. 

"I don't want to bring down your mood, babe," TK says, pulling out the note from the dessert platter. "You're—you're always so amazing to me, and I had to go and—" 

"—Ty, no," Carlos brings a hand to his jaw, smoothing his thumb over the skin there. TK leans into it, because it'd be impossible not to, always feeling anchored and loved with any form of physical touch. "I love you, and I want you to feel that love." 

"I do, all the time," TK insists, curling his fingers into his boyfriend's shirt. "I want _you_ to feel how much I love you, too." 

"I know, babe, I swear," Carlos says, pressing a quick kiss to his mouth. "I don't need anything besides this. Just...being here with you is enough." 

TK pulls back to look at him, and he feels like his heart might explode in his chest from all the love he feels. "That's all I need, too." 

"Good," Carlos says, turning back toward the table, pulling him along with their hands clasped together. TK looks down at all the items, listening to Carlos as he starts talking. "So I figured you'd want just a movie night with your favourite rom-com, and then got the pizza from the place downtown you love. And we can just sleep in and not do anything tomorrow." 

TK just grins at him. They bring the pizza and plates to the coffee table, TK running off to change into something more comfortable, and when he returns his eyes catch on the title screen on the TV. He points to it, looking between the TV and Carlos. "Wait, you remembered this was my favourite rom-com?" 

Carlos cocks a brow at him. "Yeah, I think your exact words were _'When Harry Met Sally_ is objectively the best love story ever told' and then you went into a ten-minute speech about it." 

"I told you this ages ago," TK says, voice becoming a little quieter. "You remembered?" 

"Of course I did," Carlos says, catching on, now, his tone matching TK's. "Ty?" 

TK just throws himself down onto the couch, nosing along Carlos' jaw and wrapping his arms around him, hugging him close.

"Hey, are you okay?" Carlos asks, hugging him back without hesitation. 

"Yeah, I just—I love you so much," TK says, pressing their foreheads together. 

Carlos smiles at him, cheeks adorably pink. "I love you too." 

They kiss, then, practically brimming with joy.

And, TK quietly thinks that this whole Valentine's Day thing might not be as bad as he thought. He knows that forgetting the past won't be that easy, but nothing feels more sure than this, right here. He gets another kiss, and another, and thinks, _yeah, not bad at all._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! comments/kudos are always appreciated <3


End file.
